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Distributors are expanding the print run for the first issue of Charlie Hebdo since last week’s terror attacks in France to as many as 5 million copies, after heavy demand led the newspaper to sell out within minutes from most newsstands in France on Wednesday.

Following the attack by masked gunmen at Charlie Hebdo’s Paris office a week ago in which eight of its staff died, the newspaper has become a symbol in France and elsewhere of free expression, leading to protests world-wide under the slogan “Je suis Charlie,” or “I am Charlie.”

The solidarity has sent demand for its new issue skyrocketing. Two additional plants are now printing the weekly newspaper—making four in total—which will allow for a second print run over the course of Wednesday, said Michel Salion, a spokesman for distributor MLP.

As many as 1 million copies will be distributed on Wednesday, with a total of 3 million expected by Saturday, Mr. Salion said. Depending on demand, future printings could bring total distribution to 5 million, he added.

Distributors to Expand Print Run to as Many as Five Million Copies as Magazines Fly Off Newsstands

People wait outside a store in Paris on Wednesday as the latest edition of Charlie Hebdo goes on sale. MARTIN BUREAU/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES

A worker prepares the new edition of Charlie Hebdo for delivery in a distribution center in Marne-la-Vallée, France. AURELIEN MEUNIER/GETTY IMAGES

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A woman reads the new edition of Charlie Hebdo as French soldiers patrol inside a Paris metro station on Wednesday. Thousands of troops have been deployed across France as the country remains at its highest security level. YOAN VALAT/EUROPEAN PRESSPHOTO AGENCY

A man reads the new issue of Charlie Hebdo at a cafe in Nice, France, on Wednesday. ERIC GAILLARD/REUTERS

Customers line up to get the latest copy of Charlie Hebdo in Bordeaux, France, on Wednesday. Inside, the newspaper ran illustrations by those who died in last’s week attack. BONNAUD GUILLAUME/ZUMA PRESS

A man pays his respects at a memorial on Rue Nicolas Appert in Paris, near the Charlie Hebdo headquarters, on Wednesday. IAN LANGSDON/EUROPEAN PRESSPHOTO AGENCY

A woman passes a sign in Montpellier, France, telling customers that the latest of edition of Charlie Hebdo is sold out. PASCAL GUYOT/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls holds the latest edition of Charlie Hebdo as he leaves the Élysée Palace in Paris on Wednesday. PATRICK KOVARIK/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES

People wait in line to buy a copy of Charlie Hebdo at the Gare de Lyon train station in Paris on Wednesday. YOAN VALAT/EUROPEAN PRESSPHOTO AGENCY

People wait outside a Paris newsstand for the latest edition of Charlie Hebdo. As many as one million copies will be distributed on Wednesday. BERTRAND GUAY/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES

A copy of the latest edition of Charlie Hebdo is placed among floral tributes outside the magazine’s offices in Paris on Wednesday. JOEL SAGET/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES

Long lines form at newsstands in France on Wednesday for the latest edition of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo. Distributors are expanding the print run to as many as five …

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVb09Muk8Qk

Charlie Hebdo didn’t pull any punches with its first post-attack edition, which will have a wider distribution internationally than before, including sales in the U.S. for the first time.

Putting a caricature of Muhammad on the cover is the same act that one of the assailants in last week’s attack said motivated the killings. This time the prophet holds a sign saying “Je suis Charlie.”

Inside, the newspaper ran illustrations by those who died in last week’s attack, including one by Bernard Verlhac, known by the name Tignous, that mocks the belief that Islamist martyrs are to be welcomed in heaven by virgin women, while referencing the publication’s long-running obsession with sex.

“Better not touch the guys from Charlie Hebdo,” says a man with a beard and a skull cap to similarly dressed men. “Otherwise, they’ll become martyrs, and once they’re in heaven these bastards will steal all our virgins.”

Security is a concern for the printers, whose names haven’t been disclosed, Mr. Salion said. The logistics center used by distributors is under police protection, he said.

Across France, people rushed to newsstands Wednesday morning to buy copies of the magazine. As early as 6.30 a.m. local time, it was difficult to find copies in the few newsstands already open in Paris. On auction website eBay, copies of Charlie Hebdo were already on sale between around €50 ($59) and €100. One auction on Wednesday morning topped €2,000.

Patrick Morault, who operates a newsstand on Paris’s Place de la Bastille, said he limited sales to two per person—and later one per person—and still exhausted the 70 copies he had received Wednesday morning within 15 minutes of opening.

“There was a line in front of the kiosk when I opened, which never happens,” Mr. Morault said. “I’ve never had that.”

David Beghin, who runs one of the stands in Gare de Lyon, a train station in eastern Paris, said the 75 copies he received Wednesday—up from eight on a normal week—had vanished 20 minutes after he opened at 6 a.m. “People came to buy copies by the dozen,” he said.

Other newsstands across the French capital and in cities such as Montpellier also had no copies left.

‘We will keep printing every day to satisfy demand.’

—Michel Salion, a spokesman for magazine distributor MLP

Some consumers expressed frustration with difficulty in finding copies, while vendors grumbled that they hadn’t been allotted enough, and were being forced to waive their fees to give the full cover price to the newspaper.

“People are furious, some insulted me,” said news kiosk owner Evelyne Revel, who said she sold out of her supply in eastern Paris within minutes. “Never in my life have I seen this.”

People of all nationalities were queuing up to buy the paper. Rob Hunter, an Australian tourist, spent two hours of his vacation standing in the rain outside a kiosk in the Paris Opera.

“I asked my friend if I could get him anything from Paris and he said he wanted a Charlie Hebdo,” said Mr. Hunter. “I am not sure what he is going to do with it. He doesn’t speak French.”